TAIPEI — Taiwan’s stock market suffered the worst trading day in its history on Friday, November 6, 2026, as the benchmark TAIEX plunged a record 3,737.67 points within minutes of the open, wiping trillions off listed companies and forcing the government to authorise an emergency market intervention. The sell-off spread from Wall Street’s technology rout the night before and turned one of Asia’s best-performing markets into the epicentre of a global market shock.

Key Points

• The TAIEX fell as much as 8.99% to an intraday low of 37,837.05 on Friday, November 6, 2026, the largest intraday point drop in the market’s history.
• TSMC, which makes up more than 40% of the index, hit its daily limit-down price of NT$2,020 shortly after the open, wiping about NT$5.7 trillion off its market value.
• More than 1,600 stocks closed limit-down, and the TAIEX ended the day down 1,873.08 points, or 4.51%, at 39,701.64, its fourth-largest closing point loss ever.
• Taiwan’s National Financial Stabilization Fund authorised its tenth stock-market intervention, with NT$500 billion of statutory capacity, after trading ended.
• The TAIEX lost 5,510 points, or 12.19%, in the week of November 2 to 6, its worst week since 2001, as foreign investors sold a net NT$91.188 billion.

What Happened

The panic began almost the moment trading opened in Taipei on Friday morning. Within minutes, the TAIEX had fallen 3,737.67 points, an 8.99% drop to an intraday low of 37,837.05, a record intraday point fall for a market that had ridden the global AI boom to repeated highs for much of 2026. The selling was so broad and so fast that it overwhelmed the market’s normal limits for individual stocks.

TSMC bore the brunt. The world’s largest contract chipmaker, over 40% of the TAIEX by weight, hit its daily limit-down price of NT$2,020 shortly after the open, falling NT$220 in its largest-ever absolute intraday drop and wiping about NT$5.7 trillion from its market value. MediaTek and Delta Electronics also hit limit-down, and more than 1,600 stocks closed at their daily lower limits. By the close, the market had recovered about half its worst losses, finishing down 1,873.08 points, or 4.51%, at 39,701.64, with TSMC down 4.69%. Foreign investors sold a net NT$91.188 billion, their seventh straight session of selling, after a record NT$994.316 billion of net foreign selling in October.

Background and Context

The sell-off followed a brutal session on Wall Street on Thursday, November 5, when the Nasdaq fell 5.52% as investors questioned how quickly the enormous spending on artificial intelligence would pay off and worried the Democrats’ midterm sweep would bring tougher data-centre rules. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell sharply, and the fear spread across the Pacific overnight.

South Korea’s KOSPI fell 6.02% on Friday and tripped a circuit breaker, while Japan’s Nikkei fell about 6%. Around $3.5 trillion in global market value was wiped out in a single day, according to Nikkei estimates. Taiwan, whose market is more concentrated in semiconductors than almost any other in the world, was the most exposed of all, and the TAIEX had already been sliding for days.

TAIEX Record Plunge: How the Government Responded

After trading ended on Friday, Taiwan’s National Financial Stabilization Fund authorised its tenth stock-market intervention, a step it takes only in moments of severe market stress. The fund can deploy up to NT$500 billion, about $15 billion, of statutory capacity, though it did not announce how much it would buy or when it would start.

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission also announced five measures to take effect on Monday, November 9. The most important caps intraday short-sale orders at 3% of a stock’s average daily trading volume, down from 30%, and the commission raised the minimum margin for short sales to 130% from 90%, making it far more expensive to bet on further falls.

Reactions and Quotes

The response from Taiwan’s authorities was swift and public. The stabilisation fund’s authorisation was the clearest sign the government viewed Friday’s fall as a market failure rather than a normal correction: the fund has intervened only a handful of times in its history, each time to restore confidence as much as to buy shares. The regulator’s short-selling curbs were aimed squarely at the traders who had profited from the fall, and foreign funds have now sold Taiwanese shares for seven straight sessions.

Why It Matters

Taiwan sits at the centre of the world’s semiconductor supply chain, and the TAIEX is no longer a local story. TSMC makes the most advanced chips used by Apple, Nvidia and almost every major technology company on earth, so a record fall in Taipei is a warning signal for the entire global AI trade.

The crash also tests the narrative that has driven markets for two years: that spending hundreds of billions of dollars on artificial intelligence infrastructure would be rewarded quickly. Friday’s rout showed how fast that confidence can reverse when investors ask when the returns will arrive.

What Happens Next

All eyes are now on Monday, November 9, when the commission’s five measures take effect and the stabilisation fund is authorised to start buying. Traders will watch whether the short-sale curbs and the fund’s firepower can steady the market, or whether the selling resumes.

The broader test is whether the AI trade can recover its footing. Until investors see clearer evidence that AI spending is paying off, or that the outlook for data centres has settled, markets from Taipei to New York are likely to stay volatile.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far did the TAIEX fall on Friday, November 6, 2026?

It fell as much as 3,737.67 points, or 8.99%, to an intraday low of 37,837.05, the largest intraday point drop in the market’s history, closing down 1,873.08 points, or 4.51%, at 39,701.64.

Why did TSMC fall so sharply?

TSMC, which makes up more than 40% of the TAIEX, hit its daily limit-down price of NT$2,020, falling NT$220 in its largest-ever intraday drop, after the Nasdaq fell 5.52% on November 5 on AI-spending doubts.

What is Taiwan’s National Financial Stabilization Fund?

It is a government fund authorised to buy shares to steady the market in severe stress. After Friday’s close it authorised its tenth intervention, with NT$500 billion, about $15 billion, of statutory capacity.

What measures did regulators announce?

Five measures take effect on Monday, November 9, including capping intraday short-sale orders at 3% of a stock’s average daily volume, down from 30%, and raising the minimum short-sale margin to 130% from 90%.

How bad was the week for Taiwan’s market?

The TAIEX lost 5,510 points, or 12.19%, in the week of November 2 to 6, its worst week since 2001. Foreign investors sold a net NT$91.188 billion on Friday, their seventh straight session of selling.

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